Flowers and Leaves

Flowers are the most interesting botanical specimens because classification of the higher plants is based on the reproductive organs (flowers). There are three or four distinct flowers which recur in amber. This is not one of them. I have never seen this type of flower in amber. There are at least 4 flowers in this piece. One of them is magnificent. The others are very good. The stamens on the flowers are interesting. It looks like you can see the pollen on the stamens. Rather an unusual circumstance.

Not only are there flowers in this piece but there is a very large fragment of an unknown leaf. Is this from where the flowers originated? It does not look like insect damage to the leaf, rather like part of the leaf was ripped away. There are small leaf fragments scattered on one side of the amber.

A beautiful piece that is just fascinating to look at - it will take some time to truly see what is inside the piece of amber. By the way, there is a bubble with forest floor debris inside.

The amber is shaped like a thick, elongated coin . It is about 1.5 inches long by 1.5 x .25 inches. A nice sized piece that fits well into your hand.

Here is a scanned image of the flowers and leaves next to a ruler so you can see the actual size.